Our batsmen succumbed to pressure, admits SA coach Russell Domingo

South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo admitted that his team has fallen apart whenever the Indians have applied the pressure on them during the ongoing Test series

New Delhi: South Africa's coach Russell Domingo on Friday admitted that his team has fallen apart whenever the Indians have applied the pressure on them during the ongoing Test series.

A dejected SA skipper Hashim Amla walks back to the pavilion after being dismissed for three at Kotla yesterday. Pic/PTI

It was yet another pathetic batting show by the South Africans as they were bowled out for 121 in 49.3 overs in reply to India's first innings score of 334. "Once we've been put under pressure, we've fell away badly, and they haven’t. Their lower order and their middle order have fought back, and have managed to give them good scores, and we haven’t been able to do that. We didn’t bat very well this afternoon and we have a lot of thinking to do. It just wasn’t good enough as a performance,” Domingo was critical of his team’s show in the four-Test series.

"It may have started late yesterday when we had them 139-6. At 139-6, you are very much in the game. They had some strong partnerships at the back end. We missed a few chances, and a few decisions didn’t go our way. So it wasn’t a very good last 40-50 overs with the ball. And not a good 45 overs with the bat today."

Domingo

"There’s no dead rubber when you play international cricket, and the players were all keen to play good cricket, which we haven’t done in the last few weeks. It has been a long tour, but that is no excuse. There is a lot of pride in that change-room, and a lot of hurt players after than performance that we put up today," Domingo said.

Soft dismissalsThe coach said that some of the soft dismissals did hurt them. "There were a few dismissals that could be deemed as a bit soft, but a good few were from very good bowling, if you think of Dane Vilas dismissals and Temba Bavuma. So it is a bit of both, and we have to give credit to India’s spinners because they have bowled well throughout the series, but we also have to take responsibility for some very soft dismissals."